City denies permit for 'sexy' event {No Spring Shwing in Alameda }

It was billed to be "A Nite of Lust, Libation and Laughter" that its producers say would have brought the kind of merriment to Alameda that's been happening for years in San Francisco with the Exotic Erotic Ball.

But that was before Alameda city officials got wind of "Spring Shwing: An April Fool's Celebration," and what its producers called its "sexy hunks and hotties in a spicy seductive setting."

The city denied a license for the March 31 event, prompting the producers on Monday to threaten a lawsuit.

"Alameda certainly does have the reputation for being stodgy, if that's the right word," said producer Howard Mauskopf, who openly questions whether the denial stemmed from the kind of show that was being planned.

"At this point, I can't really say whether the city was deceitful," Mauskopf said. "But we are certainly looking at whether the city was dishonest and we are considering action."

Mauskopf and his partner, Perry Mann, said Spring Shwing would have mirrored their Exotic Erotic Ball, which is held every Halloween at San Francisco's Cow Palace.

"Much like the ball, Spring Shwing is all about flesh, fantasy and fun on the surface -- but it's also about freedom of expression, love, and respect," the men said on their Web site. "Let's face it -- it's freedom, love and respect that allows an event like Spring Shwing to take place."

Although deputy city manager Lisa Goldman said Monday the license denial had nothing to do with the event's sexual nature, her boss, City Manger Debra Kurita, mentioned the libidinous orientation of the program first among her objections.

"The event you have proposed would involve adult entertainment, last until 3 a.m., include serving alcohol and be open to the general public through ticket sales over the Internet," Kurita wrote on March 9 to Area 51 Productions, which had filed the application.

Mauskopf and Mann said they only began promoting Spring Shwing -- including through local newspaper advertisements -- after Area 51 owner John Walker told them that securing a city license was "a mere formality."

Walker, however, maintains he actually told the men that the city would likely deny the application.

"I have never seen insurance," Walker said. "I have never seen a contract or anything to show the legitimacy of the show. I have never met the head of security -- there's been nothing."

City Hall officials first heard about Spring Shwing through the advertisements, Goldman said.

"They were already selling tickets to an event that had never obtained a permit," she said.

Goldman said city officials feared the event -- which was set to take place in a former aircraft hangar at Alameda Point -- would draw thousands of people and stretch police resources. The hangar can accommodate up to 3,600 people.

"It was the uncontrolled nature, not the content," she said about decision to deny the license.

Mauskopf said the promotion happened only after Area 51 Productions had accepted a $10,000 deposit and after numerous meetings about the show.

Although the upcoming show has been canceled, another one still may take place in Alameda.

I agree with you.....it makes me ill. Men are evil.....not changing one bit since Sodom & Gomorrah. Gosh those are strong words. Women are evil for killing their unborn children. Men who bugger other men may be immoral but last I checked there was a "thou shalt not Kill" commandment given by God himself directly to Moses on stone tablets. Refresh my memory, was there a "thou shalt not have gay orgies" on that tablet as well? Maybe if you include lust as part of the prohibition against adultery. So whomever hasn't committed an act of lust - let them cast the first stone.

So whomever hasn't committed an act of lust - let them cast the first stone.

So, since we've all lusted at one time or another, that makes it illegitimate for anyone to speak against lust?

So, no former alcoholic has standing to speak against alcoholism?

No former drug addict has standing to speak against drug use?

Obviously, your implication is not only wrong, but is diametrically opposed to the truth.

None are better qualified to speak against evil than those who have been under its influence. None can better attest to its nature, its destructive force, its beguiling deception.

The good do not speak against the lusts of the flesh because they are evil people, they speak aginst the lusts of the flesh because lusts are a pervasive evil; the good call that which is evil "evil". Yet those who would indulge the flesh, hear evil being called "evil" and respond by calling the good "evil".

In this, those who revile the good for calling evil "evil" take the side of evil against good, and promote the Liberal "Cult of Indiscriminate Thought", wherein the only true evil is discrimination. That one faculty which allows us to differentiate between right and wrong, moral and immoral, good and evil is, itself the one and only thing that Liberalism calls "evil". Thus bereft of the capacity to discriminate, Liberalism regards that which is called "good" as having been the beneficiary of some prejudice, and that which is called "evil" as having been the victim of some injustice; probably at the hands of good. So, then, siding with evil against good becomes a supreme act of justice to the Liberal mind, and they go so far as to regard themselves as heroic in doing so.

Unfortunately, in regard to social issues, many who would not call themselves "Liberal" behave in exactly the same fashion, belittling good, rationalizing evil, and pushing a mindframe where there is no longer any differentiation between the two, and everyone can do anything they want. We can all behave as bratty little children, gratifying our every desire without restraint, and there's nobody that has a standard -- a criterion of reason -- that they can look at and tell us to stop because THAT would necessitate them committing The Unpardonable Sin of -- GASP -- discrimination.

Cue John Lennon
"Imagine there's no heaven..."

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